Triathlon – Managing Foot Blisters

I’ve run for many years and at various distances never having had a problem with blisters. This year something changed and I’ve been plagued with toe and forefoot blisters for the past 4 months. Training and racing with these blisters has really been a test of will.

Having tried lots of remedies these blister pads made training with blisters bearable and appear to help the healing process.

The Kroger brand actually works better. Ironically, the more expensive 2nd Skin product caused a blister on the inside of an adjacent toe. The shape and clear adhesive design of the 2nd Skin didn’t fit toes very well and caused some rough ridges that chaffed into a blister about 2 miles into a run.

The generic Kroger brand was easier to apply, fit better on various toes (even the pinky) and lasted 3 days easily. I changed them more frequently, because of the nature of sweat and bacteria, but there a few non-training days that let me keep one applied for some time.

During training I never experienced issues with them coming loose; out of the water into transition, cycling with no socks, and running with no socks.

Hopefully you don’t have to battle with foot blisters, but if you do I recommend the Kroger brand blister bandages. They made a huge difference. Some days I didn’t even realize I had blisters when wearing the Kroger blister bandages; and for that I am grateful!

On a final note –yes running with socks helps, but I’ve actually been blistering with various types and brands of socks. The blistering got so bad I actually saw a podiatrist and paid for custom orthotics. That’s a whole blog entry! End result I’m ditching socks for races and speed workouts this year, it is what it is.

The Kroger brand actually works better.

The generic Kroger brand was easier to apply, fit better on various toes (even the pinky), didn’t cause other blisters, and lasted 3 days easily.

During training I never experienced issues with them coming loose; out of the water into transition, cycling with no socks, and running with no socks.